NCT03909347: PLAN

PLAN: Dementia Literacy Education and Navigation for Korean Elders With Probable Dementia and Their Caregivers

Active, enrolled NA Last updated 8 December 2025

What this trial tests

NA trial testing PLAN in Dementia in 288 participants. Participants enrolled and being followed up; not accepting new ones.

Timeline

20 April 2021

Primary endpoint
31 August 2026

31 August 2026

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Johns Hopkins University
Phase	NA
Status	Active, enrolled
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	single
Primary purpose	screening
Enrollment	288
Start date	20 April 2021
Primary completion	31 August 2026
Estimated completion	31 August 2026
Sites	2 locations across United States

Drugs / interventions tested

• PLAN
• Standard of Care

Conditions studied

• Dementia — all drugs for Dementia →

Sponsor

Johns Hopkins University

Who can join

18 and older, any sex, with Dementia. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Studies have shown that ethnic-racial minority elders are more likely to be neglected from appropriate dementia care in time than the white counterparts. Among minorities group, Korean Americans (KAs) are the 4th largest and one of the most rapidly growing Asian subpopulations and have been characterized as under-resourced and underserved population of dementia care. This research is being done to understand how an education and navigation support program led by trained community health workers (CHWs) helps Korean American elders with probable dementia and the Korean American elders' caregivers. In a 2-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) with 288 dyads, the investigators' aims are to (1) test the effect of a community-based intervention delivered by trained CHWs for undiagnosed KA elders with probable dementia and the KA elders' caregivers, (2) evaluate the effect of the PLAN on improving caregiver's dementia literacy, self-efficacy in dementia care and service use, social support, depression, and quality of life at 6 months in comparison to usual care, and (3) examine whether the effect of PLAN differs across age, sex, English proficiency and education caregiver subgroups. Exploratory Aim 1 is to test the effect of PLAN on Korean elders with probable dementia and caregiver development of a plan regarding dementia care at 6 months in comparison to usual care. The other two Exploratory Aims are to test the applicability of this study in another environment: Exploratory Aim 2: Using an equity-informed human-centered design framework, scale PLAN for implementation in ethnic daycare and Exploratory Aim 3: Pilot test the feasibility and acceptability of PLAN in ethnic adult daycare.

Aim 1 and Exploratory Aim test the following hypotheses: (1) Korean elders with probable dementia who receive the PLAN will have higher rates of linkage to medical service for dementia than those in the control group (Aim 1) and (2) Korean elders with probable dementia and the KA elders' caregivers who receive the PLAN will have higher rates of having a plan for dementia care than those in the control group (Exploratory Aim). Aim 2 tests the following hypothesis: Caregivers in the PLAN group will have higher dementia literacy, self-efficacy in dementia care and service use, social support, and quality of life, and lower depression than those in the control group.

Publications & conference data

8 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Interventions for improving health literacy in migrants.
   Baumeister A, Aldin A, Chakraverty D, Hübner C, et al · · 2023 · cited 22× · PMID 37963101 · DOI 10.1002/14651858.cd013303.pub2
2. The impact of anti-Asian racism on routine activities and mental health among Korean American older adults and their caregivers.
   Han HR, Min D, Yun JY, Joo JH, et al · · 2023 · cited 9× · PMID 36908462 · DOI 10.3389/fpubh.2023.958657
3. Online-Based Recruitment Methods for Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Scoping Review and Lessons Learned From the PLAN Trial.
   Min D, Yun JY, Parslow C, Jajodia A, et al · · 2025 · cited 1× · PMID 39998873 · DOI 10.2196/55082
4. PLAN-Dementia literacy education and navigation for Korean elders with probable dementia and their caregivers: Rationale, methods, and design of a community-based, randomized, controlled, multi-site clinical trial.
   Han HR, Perrin N, Kwon SC, Joo J, et al · · 2025 · cited 1× · PMID 39622468 · DOI 10.1016/j.cct.2024.107771
5. Efficacy of a language-concordant community health worker intervention to improve community-to-clinic linkage for dementia care: results of the randomized trial PLAN.
   Han HR, Perrin N, Yun JY, Min D, et al · · 2026 · PMID 42233272 · DOI 10.1002/alz.71541
6. The Impact of Digital Literacy on Social Isolation Among Korean American Older Adults: Insights From the PLAN Trial
   · 2025
7. Full GSA 2025 Abstract Book PDF
   · 2025
8. Health literacy demand and attitudes toward COVID-19 prevention measures among Korean American older adults and their caregivers.
   Han HR, Yun JY, Min D, Razaz M. · · 2024 · PMID 39443891 · DOI 10.1186/s12889-024-20427-7